We frequently get updates for our This Week in Beer post after our regular 9:00 am publishing time. Any edited listing will have UPDATE at the beginning of the listing. NEW – Check out our new Better Beer Happy Hours, Etc. page for regularly scheduled specials on better beer.

Monday, March 2nd – Mug Night Monday at Flipdaddy’s Union

Monday, March 2nd – 1/3 off craft beer bottles at Moerlein Lager House

Monday, March 2nd – Randall Monday at the Brass Tap U Square

Monday, March 2nd at 5:00 pm – Rare Keg Monday at Ei8ht Ball Brewing

Monday, March 2nd at 6:00 pm – Beer of the Month Tapping at Moerlein Lager House
This month, it’s their Lab Lager #3 and it’s benefiting the Over-The-Rhine Brewery District.

Monday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm – Rogue Beer Tasting & Dinner at BJ’s Restaurant and Brew House Florence
Eight beers (six from Rogue and two from BJ’s), four courses for $30 for prepaid reservations, $35 day of event. Reserve online at their web site.

Monday, March 2nd from 8:00 pm to close – Pint Night at Incline Public House

Tuesday, March 3rd – Penny Flips at Fifty West

Tuesday, March 3rd – Tappa Keg Tuesday at Dingle House

Tuesday, March 3rd – $8 Growler Fills at Moerlein Lager House

Tuesday, March 3rd – Infusion Special at the Brass Tap U Square

Tuesday, March 3rd from 5:00-7:00 pm – Meet the Brewer at Barleycorn’s
This week, it’s TBA at their Lakeside Park location and TBA at their Florence location.

Wednesday, March 4th from 5:30 to 8:00 pm – Beer Tasting at Marty’s Hops and Vines

Thursday, March 5th – Firkin Thursday at Fifty West

Thursday, March 5th – Tap That Thursday at BrewRiver GastroPub

Thursday, March 5th at 4:00 pm – Oskar Blues Pinner Tapping at The Lackman
Pinner is a session IPA.

Thursday, March 5th from 4:00 pm to close – Take Home the Glass Night at Taste of Belgium Clifton

Thursday, March 5th at 6:00 pm – Schoenling Bock Tapping at Mecklenburg’s Gardens
This brew is the winner of the previous year’s Bockfest homebrew competition put on by the Bloatarian Brewing League. Special dinner buffet will be available as well.

Friday, March 6th-Sunday, March 8th – Bockfest 2015
As we always do, we’ll be posting the events for each day.

Friday, March 6th – $8 Growler Fills at Christian Moerlein Brewery

Friday, March 6th at 5:30 pm – Beer and Wine Tasting at Everything’s d’ Vine
$10 per person to taste five beers and four wines. $5 to taste just beer or just wine.

Friday, March 6th from 6:00-7:00 pm – Friday Night Flights Beer Tasting at Party Town in Florence

Saturday, March 7th at 12:00 pm – The Return of the Tiger (Saber Tooth Tiger) at Rhinegeist
Available in 22oz bombers that are limited to two per person. They will not be filling growlers, howlers, or crowlers.

Saturday, March 7th from 5:00-8:00pm – Beer Tasting at Ludlow Wines
The cost to taste four beers is $6.00 per person.

We frequently get updates for our Tastings and Tappings Report after our regular publishing time. Any edited listing will have UPDATE at the beginning of the listing. Don’t forget to check out our This Week in Beer post from Monday for other better beer events happening this weekend.

Don’t forget the Eleven/162 Anniversary Party & Bottle Release at the Christian Moerlein Malt House tomorrow starting at 6:00 pm. More information available on their Facebook event page – https://www.facebook.com/events/897596250281122

TASTINGS

● Everything’s d’ Vine – Tasting is at 5:30 pm each week and costs $10 for beer and wine tastings. You can get just beer or just wine for $5.00. For this week’s tasting (2/27), it’s all beers from Bluegrass Brewing Company: Louisville Lager, Nut Brown Ale, American Pale Ale and Bourbon Barrel Stout.

● Moerlein Lager House – Their March Beer of the Month Tapping (3/2) is Lab Lager #3. One dollar from each Lab Lager #3 order plus 100% of the proceeds from ceremonial keg will go to the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District.

UPDATE: Greg Hardman just emailed to say that Christian Moerlein Red Hop Mess won the bronze at the New York International Beer Competition in the Imperial India Pale Ale category. Congratulations!

The Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. announces the expansion of their popular craft beer can lineup with one of their most successful new brands, Red Hop Mess Red IPA. Red Hop Mess was originally launched in November 2014 in six-pack bottles and draft and quickly gained popularity after being listed as one of the top craft beers in the State of Ohio. The beer will be available beginning February 27th throughout greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland, Lexington and Louisville in 12 ounce cans featuring artwork from Cincinnati artist, Jim Effler.

Moerlein Red Hop Mess Red IPA fits into the India Pale Ale category and is a well-balanced hop forward beer with a citrusy aroma and a sweet malt grain bill. The recipe for Red Hop Mess came from a collaboration of the Christian Moerlein brewing team, striving for a unique and innovation IPA. Vital Stats include: OG: 15.9, ABV 7.2%, SRM 11 and IBUs of 83. Christian Moerlein Head Brewer, Tom Hull, explains that flavor and aroma as, “Sweet lightly toasted malt with a blast of citrus hops that has a hint of pine in the finish.”

The Jim Effler artwork featured on the can depicts a team of mad scientists working in the lab of the brewery, reveling in the glory of the hoppy wonder they have created. The Cans description states:

Just like the creations of a mad scientist, brewing an exceptional beer requires the dynamic blend of art, science, and a touch of crazy innovation. Our team of craft brewers collaborated on this unique red IPA with a recipe bearing the perfect fusion of malt and a mad dose of Amarillo hops. The result, Red Hop Mess – a stroke of pure genius with just the right amount of madness.

Christian Moerlein’s Red Hop Mess has seen overwhelmingly positive feedback from the market in the first three months of the brand’s existence.

Since we’ve picked up some new readers, we thought it was time to run this quick tour of Hoperatives again. Step this way please…

On Mondays, we publish “This Week in Beer” and on Fridays, we publish the “Tastings and Tappings Report”. Many Tuesdays, we have our “Traveling Tuesday” post on a better beer location outside the greater Cincinnati area. The other days are filled with local Cincinnati beer news, beer reviews and posts from our writers.

Looking for books on brewing history in Cincinnati and beyond or possibly beer accessories? Check out our new Bookstore and Beer Wares links in the left hand column. Let us know if there’s a book or item we are missing.

If you are a believer in better beer (in Cincinnati and beyond) and you’ll like to make that official, you should be a Hoperative. All you have to do is fill out the form to join our ranks and get your roll call number. You can see the already registered Hoperatives on that same Roll Call page.

The best way Hoperatives grows is through the input of our readers. We love hearing your suggestions. Watch for a survey soon on how you had give us even more input!

So welcome! We welcome you (or welcome you back) and raise a pint of better beer in your honor!

Cheers and here’s to better beer!

— Carla and Tom

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It was four years ago this month that Lindsey Bonadonna-Roeper, at the time a rep for Goose Island, gathered a large group of Cincinnati beer folk in a private room at Nicholson’s. The purpose? To discuss the creation of the first ever Cincinnati Beer Week. It was something that we had already suggested in a post five months earlier.

One of the major points of contention during the discussion was when to schedule it. Because the largest beer event in Cincinnati was (and is) the Cincy Winter Beerfest, the decision was made to schedule Cincinnati Beer Week in the days leading up to the beer festival. While this plan made sense at the time, we vividly remember Lisa Farmer, the Great Lakes Brewery rep, asking, “Are you really sure you want to have it in February?!?”

In the last few years, we’ve seen an entire weekend of Tap Room Trolley events snowed out and the bad weather this past week forced many venues to postpone or cancel their previously scheduled events. During the original planning of Cincinnati Beer Week, putting it in February seemed to be a risk worth taking. That may not be the case any more.

This past Saturday, as we were suffering through the third snow storm of the week, Mt. Carmel Brewing tweeted out the following reply to Rivertown‘s announcement that they were cancelling their events for the day:

And there it is. Mt. Carmel said what we all had been thinking. Enough is enough. It’s time to change the dates for Cincinnati Beer Week. But is May the right time? For starters, we need to look at when other beer weeks in our region are scheduled. Here are the dates for the ones within a five-hour drive from Cincinnati:

Even if you throw out the Chicago dates, May is pretty crowded. Even if May dates work for attendance, you don’t want to make regional breweries have to choose which city’s beer week to have events at if their coverage is limited.

All that being said, here are two possible times that we would like to suggest:

1) The week or so leading up to the Cincy Beerfest on Fountain Square which was held on September 12th and 13th in 2014. This would keep Cincinnati Beer Week anchored by a large beer festival, but it’s Oktoberfest season and that could cause its own problems.

OR

2) The last week (full or partial) in April. Late in April avoids Easter and other cities’ beer weeks. Precipitation can still be an issue (April showers and May flowers and all of that), but it’s unlikely that anyone will have to shovel it or otherwise prevent anyone from leaving home.

We were on the Beer Week board for the first couple of years and we both fully supported the February dates. We thought placing Beer Week alongside a great event like the Cincy Winter Beerfest was important to help establish something that, for Cincinnati, was a new thing. Nothing is ever a sure thing, but we think the event has grown up enough that it can make it on its own.

Beer Week is a lot of work. The board, the distributors and the venues work extremely hard to make the week a real highlight on the calendar for beer lovers across the Tri-State. If the distributors are going to work hard to get the beer and the venues are going to work hard to showcase it, it makes sense to hold the events when you can be pretty sure people are going to be able to show up. February in Cincinnati. What could possibly go wrong? It’s not like people around here take snow in stride.

A hallmark of Cincinnati Beer Week’s planning process is its inclusiveness. Unlike a lot of events elsewhere in the country, everyone involved in the planning and execution of Cincinnati Beer Week is a volunteer. Openness and transparency in decision-making has always been one of the strengths of the group. There are a lot of issues and concerns that have to be balanced. Maybe when it’s all said and done the decision will be made that Cincinnati Beer Week stays right where it is. If everyone puts their heads together and decides that’s for the best, all things considered, then that’s what needs to happen. All we’re suggesting is starting the discussion.

— Carla and Tom

ADDENDUM: We reached out to Lindsey Bonadonna-Roeper who is the current president of the CBW board and asked if she wanted to comment on this idea. She sent us this:

As with every year, we learn so much and always encourage an open and honest dialogue, as I believe that together is the only way we can continue to improve and forge this well-crafted path. An insight garnered in 2015 is that even with the best of intentions, we do not possess the ability to schedule around the power and unpredictable essence of Mother Nature. Ironically, we actually moved CBW back a week to take advantage of awareness building opportunities and had the Week occurred in this same part of the month as prior years, we would have experienced fairly mild weather. We have given all participating venues the opportunity to reschedule their events and continue to post them on the calendar through March 1st. Please make sure to visit the Official Calendar because even though CBW is over, that doesn’t mean the well-crafted events have to end. The Cincinnati Beer Week Board of Trustees, as we have always been, are open to discussions about all things Cincinnati Beer Week. This includes the matter of calendar dates for Cincinnati Beer Week as well.

With all the craziness of Cincinnati Beer Week and the horrible winter weather last week, you may have missed this news:

Catch-a-Fire Pizza and MadTree Brewing are excited to announce the completion of the Catch-a-Fire Café now open inside the MadTree Brewing taproom.

Catch-a-Fire owners, Jeff and Melissa Ledford, have taken their food truck concept and teamed up with MadTree Brewing, ultimately branching out together to provide a unique culinary and brewing experience for taproom patrons. The Café menu includes a wider selection of their wood-fired pizzas as well as beer friendly appetizers, salads, desserts and seasonal features. The food focus will be beer- inspired and wood-fired as Chef Ledford incorporates and infuses MadTree’s beers into many of the café recipes. In addition to serving taproom customers at MadTree, the café is fully equipped to cater private parties for brewery guests.

While the food truck will continue to hit the streets of greater Cincinnati, Catch-a-Fire Café’s hours are Tuesdays 4-9pm, Thursdays 12-9pm, Fridays/Saturdays 12-10pm and Sundays 12-7pm. The Grand Opening is Tuesday, February 24th from 4-9pm at 5164 Kennedy Avenue.

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We frequently get updates for our This Week in Beer post after our regular 9:00 am publishing time. Any edited listing will have UPDATE at the beginning of the listing. Check out our new Better Beer Happy Hours, Etc. page for regularly scheduled specials on better beer.

Monday, Feb. 23rd at 5:00 pm – Rare Keg Monday at Ei8ht Ball BrewingPostponed from last Monday – “How it will work… Showing up before 4pm does not guarantee anyone a pour of Cantillon Classic Gueuze. A line will start at Danny Gold’s desk at 4pm just outside of the tap room, and tickets will be handed out. This keg is 20 liters, and we are only handing out 80 tickets. We will be using special glassware for this beer (6oz Tulip). A smaller glass will help us insure more of this beer to more fans of Cantillon. The cost will be $7. After we hand out the first 40 tickets, those 40 will start a line 1-20 on the right side of the bar, and 21-40 on the left side of the bar. After the first 40 patrons are served, we move into the next round of 40. There is a strict limit of one glass per person. If less than 80 customers show up for a glass of Cantillon, the Ei8ht Ball team reserves the right to make a decision on if a second glass per customer will be offered.”

Monday, Feb. 23rd from 6:00 to 7:00 pm – Craft Your Own Mix at Firehouse GrillPostponed from last Monday – Samuel Adams Stout on Nitro to mix with your favorite craft beer. Angry Orchard also goes well with this stout if you like snakebites.

Monday, Feb. 23rd at 7:00 pm – Rogue Beer Tasting & Dinner at BJ’s Restaurant and Brew House Tri-County Mall
Eight beers (six from Rogue and two from BJ’s), four courses for $30 for prepaid reservations, $35 day of event. Reserve online at their web site. This same dinner will be held at the Florence location on Monday, March 2nd.

Monday, Feb. 23rd from 8:00 pm to close – Pint Night at Incline Public House

Tuesday, Feb. 24th – Penny Flips at Fifty West

Tuesday, Feb. 24th – Tappa Keg Tuesday at Dingle House

Tuesday, Feb. 24th – $8 Growler Fills at Moerlein Lager House

Tuesday, Feb. 24th – Infusion Special at the Brass Tap U Square

Tuesday, Feb. 24th from 5:00-7:00 pm – Meet the Brewer at Barleycorn’s
This week, it’s MadTree at their Lakeside Park location and Rhinegeist at their Florence location.

Thursday, Feb. 26th from 4:00 pm to close – Take Home the Glass Night at Taste of Belgium Clifton

Thursday, Feb. 26th from 6:00-7:00 pm – Ei8ht Ball Fight or Flight at Firehouse GrillPostponed from last Saturday – “We will have the Rock’em Sock’em game on the bar for everyone to enjoy! Come and show your skills with the game and try a flight of their 3 most popular beers!”

Thursday, Feb. 26th at 6:30 pm – I Survived DEATH 2015 at Holler Hops & GrillRescheduled from 2/16 — An unique eating competition – 10 wings drenched in Holler’s death sauce and a glass of Rivertown Death. All participants will receive a t-shirt and the first person to finish will win a private tour at Rivertown.

Friday, Feb. 27th – $8 Growler Fills at Christian Moerlein Brewery

Friday, Feb. 27th at 5:30 pm – Precipitation Retaliation Happy Hour at Milton’s The Prospect Hill Tavern
One of our favorite pre-Bockfest events. From the Facebook event page:
“In 2008, Bockfest was almost entirely shut down by the largest snowfall in 20 years. A motley band of hardcore Bockfest fans took to the streets to parade through the snow, and hunkered down at Bockfest Hall to enjoy their delicious Bock beer. Unfortunately, everyone else was not so lucky and couldn’t make it to Over-the-Rhine. In 2009, we felt a little retaliation was in order. A snowman effigy was acquired, and set alight at Grammer’s amid much celebration. The gods were thus put on notice, and provided us with a beautiful Bockfest™ weekend. With similar results in 2010 after burning another snowman at Milton’s, a tradition was born. We cannot conclusively guarantee that we have acquired the power to control the weather in Cincinnati, but it has worked for the past three years. In 2012, in fact, we attribute this ritual to why a tornado that was supposed to hit downtown Cincinnati was substituted with clearing skies in time for the parade. As importantly, burning a snowman is a lot more fun than watching a groundhog stick its head out of a hole. Join us as we make our ritual sacrifice for 2015. Watch as we burn this year’s victim at the stake at 8PM and toast to a beautiful Bockfest weekend.”

Friday, Feb. 27th at 5:30 pm – Beer and Wine Tasting at Everything’s d’ Vine
$10 per person to taste five beers and four wines. $5 to taste just beer or just wine.

Saturday, Feb. 28th-Sunday, March 1st – Moerlein Lager House Weekend at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum
From their Facebook event page, “Moerlein Lager House will give away 500 tickets each day for free admission to the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum. The Moerlein Lager House is a supporter of the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum and sponsors the Fan Cave on the Museum’s second floor. Fans pick up the ticket from the Hall of Fame on each day beginning at 10 a.m. Also on this weekend, the Moerlein Lager House will offer a FREE pint glass for each purchase of a beer or soda. The collectible pint glass features the logo of the Moerlein Lager House and the Reds Hall of Fame.” Each day from “2-3 pm, Brewers from the Moerlein Lager House will tap a special keg of Handlebar Stout at Moerlein Lager House with tasting samples available.”

Saturday, Feb. 28th from 5:00-8:00pm – Beer Tasting at Ludlow Wines
The cost to taste four beers is $6.00 per person.

Saturday, Feb. 28th at 6:00pm – Eleven/162 Anniversary Party & Bottle Release at the Christian Moerlein Malt House
From the Facebook event page: “The annual celebration will be centered on the release of the brewery’s first ever 22-ounce “bomber” style bottle of a limited-release beer name Eleven/162. Eleven/162 is a smooth, malt-driven Scottish Wee Heavy Ale, meticulously aged for three months in Smooth Ambler Bourbon Barrels.” Limited quantities of wax-dipped, hand-numbered bottles of Eleven/162 will be released for purchase at 6:00 pm. Eleven/162 will be on tap alongside the last keg from last year’s anniversary limited release, Ten/161. There are also plans for numerous specialty infused kegs and casks to be on tap throughout the evening.

Saturday, February 21st from 11:00 am-10:00 pm – Cellar Dweller Brewery Anniversary Party
Tastings and pints served all day as well as specialty keg tappings throughout the day. Food available a la carte including hot dogs, metts, brats and more with a variety of sides. Live music with the Sam Shaw Band from 2:00-6:00 pm and Bibs & Barefeet from 6:30-10:30 pm.

Saturday, February 21st from 12:00-4:00 pm – Watermelon Randall Saturday at Ei8ht Ball Brewing
Country Boy Gose through Watermelon in the Randall.

Saturday, February 21st from 12:00-10:00 pm – Pints, Pinups and Pitties / Sour Saturday at Rivertown BrewingTHIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL MARCH 28th DUE TO THE WEATHER.

Saturday, February 21st from 1:00-2:30 pm – Beer 101 at the Growler House
“Learn about the basics of beer, the craft beer renaissance that is happening right here in Cincinnati, and of course get to try a bunch of samples! This is a ticketed event ($20) which includes the information session, samples of beer, and a pint glass to take home.”

Saturday, February 21st at 2:00 pm – Bell’s Fire and Ice at Cock & Bull Hyde Park
Fire & Ice Ice Carving Demo on the Patio at 2:00 pm. Drink out of a ice mug. Beers include Hopslam, Smitten, Two Hearted and Amber.

Saturday, February 21st from 5:00-8:00 pm – Craft Beer University at Christian Moerlein Malt House
A hands on, unique and engaging way to connect with the beer that you love. Beginners session from 5:00 – 6:00 PM and Advanced session from 6:15 – 8:00 PM.

Saturday, February 21st from 6:00-7:00 pm – Ei8ht Ball Fight or Flight at Firehouse Grill
“We will have the Rock’em Sock’em game on the bar for everyone to enjoy! Come and show your skills with the game and try a flight of their 3 most popular beers!”

Saturday, February 21st from 6:00-11:30 pm – Feed the Dogs Night at Growler House
Five Thirsty dog beers on tap with 100% of profits from Thirsty Dog donated to the Save the Animals Foundation. Donate a dog/cat toy (no rawhide please) or cash to receive a free Thirsty Dog Pint Glass. There will be dogs here to hang out from StAF between 6:00-8:00 pm and they will also be tapping a very special “12 Dogs After Christmas” cask.

Saturday, February 21st from 6:30-10:00 pm – Taste the Planets with Bell’s and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
“The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Bell’s Brewery present Taste the Planets surrounding the performances of Gustav Holst’s The Planets on February 19 & 21-22. Only on Saturday evening concert ticketholders may add on a beer flight tasting for $8 to taste Jupiter, Venus and Mercury beers from Bell’s Brewery limited edition series The Planets. Beer flight tickets can be redeemed starting at 6:30pm at Music Hall concession stands. Or – add on a ticket to a VIP pre-concert meet and greet with Larry Bell for $25. Space is limited and this opportunity is Saturday night only! The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert begins at 8:00pm with conductor Peter Oundjian featuring Khachaturian’s Waltz from Masquerade Suite and Piano Concerto with acclaimed soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Cincinnati Observatory will have telescope demonstrations in front of Music Hall after the concert, weather permitting.”

Saturday, February 21st from 7:00-11:30 pm – Hopslam Palooza at Jtaps
Featuring Bell’s Hopslam, Expedition Stout, Special Double Cream Stout and Two Hearted Ale. Glassware will be available but limited.

Saturday, February 21st from 8:00-11:30 pm – Live Music and Well-Crafted Creations at Bogarts
Beer from Deschutes, New Belgium, Blue Moon and more. Music from Trippin Billies, a Dave Matthews tribute band.

Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 from 5:00-7:00 pm – Cask and Cork Featuring Rhinegeist at Whole Foods Market Cincinnati
Five special release beers from Rhinegeist. Cost is only $5 for five beer samples and five food pairings. Wine samples also available.

Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 from 8:00-11:00 pm – Deschutes Abyss Tapping and Pairing at Goodfellas Pizzeria
In addition to Abyss, they’ll also have Red Chair on the nitro line. Both of these beers will be paired with unique donuts from Holtman’s Donuts baked just for this event.